Squalene synthetase is a microsomal enzyme which catalyzes the reductive dimerization of two molecules of farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) in the presence of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (reduced form) (NADPH) to form squalene (Poulter, C.D.; Rilling, H.C., in "Biosynthesis of Isoprenoid Compounds", Vol. I, Chapter 8, pp. 413-441, J. Wiley and Sons, 1981 and references therein). This enzyme is the first committed step of the de novo cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. The selective inhibition of this step should allow the essential pathways to isopentenyl tRNA, ubiquinone, and dolichol to proceed unimpeded. Squalene synthetase, along with HMG-CoA reductase has been shown to be down-regulated by receptor mediated LDL uptake (Faust, J.R.; Goldstein, J.L.; Brown, M.S. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 1979, 76, 5018-5022), lending credence to the proposal that inhibiting squalene synthetase will lead to an up-regulation of LDL receptor levels, as has been demonstrated for HMG-CoA reductase, and thus ultimately should be useful for the treatment and prevention of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.
One approach to inhibitors of squalene synthetase is to design analogs of the substrate FPP. It is clear from the literature that the pyrophosphate moiety is essential for binding to the enzyme. However, such pyrophosphates are unsuitable as components of pharmacological agents due to their chemical and enzymatic lability towards allylic C-O cleavage, as well as their susceptibility to metabolism by phosphatases.
P. Ortiz de Montellano et al in J. Med. Chem., 1977, 20, 243-249 describe the preparation of a series of substituted terpenoid pyrophosphate (Table A), and have shown these to be competitive inhibitors of the squalene synthetase enzyme. These substances retain the unstable allylic pyrophosphate moiety of FPP.
TABLE A ______________________________________ ##STR2## No. X Y Z ______________________________________ 1 CH.sub.3 CH.sub.3 H 2 H H H 3 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 H H 4 I H H 5 H I H 6 CH.sub.3 H SCH.sub.3 ______________________________________
Corey and Volante, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1976, 98, 1291-3, have prepared FPP analog A and presqualene pyrophosphate (PSQ-PP) analog B as inhibitors of squalene bisosynthesis. (Presqualene pyrophosphate is an intermediate in the conversion of FPP to squalene). These inhibitors possess methylene groups in place of the allylic oxygen moiety of FPP and PSQ-PP, but still retain the chemically and enzymatically unstable pyrophosphate linkage. ##STR3##
Poulter and co-workers have prepared cyclopropane C (Sandifer, R.M., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1982, 104, 7376-8) which in the presence of inorganic pyrophosphate is an intermediate analog inhibitor of the enzyme squalene synthetase. ##STR4##
Altman and co-workers, Bertolino, A., et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1978, 530, 17-23, reported that farnesyl amine and related derivatives D inhibit squalene synthetase, but provide evidence that this inhibition is non-specific and probably related to membrane disruption. ##STR5##
Poulter, C.D., et al, J. Org. Chem., 1986, 51, 4768, prepared compound E in a demonstration of a synthetic method, but did not report any biological data. ##STR6##
Poulter, C.D., Stremler, K.E., J.A.C.S., 1987, 109, 5542 describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of compounds having structure F. These compounds were evaluated as alternative substrates for avian liver and lemon peel farnesyl diphosphate cyclase. ##STR7##
McClard, R.W. and Poulter, C.D., et al., J.A.C.S. 1987, 109, 5544, reported that phosphinylphosphonates G and H were competitive inhibitors of the 1'-4-condensation between isopentenyl diphosphate and geranyl diphosphate catalyzed by avian liver farnesyl diphosphate synthetase. Phosphinylphosphonates G and H had Ki's of 19 .mu.M and 71 .mu.M, respectively. They also reported the speculative isolation of the farnesyl phosphinylphosphonate I, and the geranyl phosphinylphosphonate J from the enzymatic reaction of G with geranyl pyrophosphate or dimethylallyl pyrophosphate, respectively. The structures of I and J were tentatively assigned based on relative TLC mobilities. They hypothesized that I could be a potential inhibitor of squalene synthetase. ##STR8##
Capson, T.L., PhD dissertation, June 1987, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry, the University of Utah, Abstract, Table of Contents, pp. 16, 17, 40-14 43, 48-51, Summary, and T.L. Capson, C.D. Poulter et al, J. Org. Chem., 1988, 53, 5903-5908 disclose cyclopropanes of the structure K ##STR9## as intermediate analog inhibitors of squalene synthetase.
Biller and coworkers, "Isoprenoid (Phosphinylmethyl)phosphonates as Inhibitors of Squalene Synthetase," J. Med. Chem., 1988, 31, 1869, synthesized analogues of FPP, 2a-d and 3a,b, where the allylic and anhydride oxygen atoms are replaced with carbon. The PMP subunit thereby serves as a stable surrogate for the diphosphate. They demonstrate that isoprenoid (phosphinylmethyl)-phosphonates (PMPs) are effective inhibitors of squalene synthetase, binding to the enzyme with affinity comparable to FPP itself. ##STR10##